


whatever kind of mood you're in tonight

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 02:25:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2756111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joe and Caitlin meet in unusual circumstances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	whatever kind of mood you're in tonight

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know where to go with this. It started life as a comment fic prompt - _any, any rare or unconventional pairing, two characters who already know each other end up meeting at a blind date and find out they have in common way more than they always assumed_ and somewhere along the time I was thinking of it, I thought it doesn't actually say they have to be on a date with each other, and I was bemoaning the lack of Joe West fic in general (because he is awesome and amazing and Jesse L Martin and come on people!) and then this just appeared!
> 
> ETA: edited on Dec 26th after seeing 1.06 and having thinky thoughts about the timeline. Two words altered.

The whiskey burns as it goes down and Caitlin just about manages to keep from spluttering. This is far too nice a place to be coughing very expensive alcohol all over the very expensive bar. She's not a big whiskey drinker, not a big drinker at all really, but tonight, she feels like she needs a taste of Dutch courage. If nothing else, she figures that having to sip the drink will keep her in her seat for longer, help her stop running out into the night - and doubtless make a fool of herself because it's not like she could run anywhere in these heels, in this dress. Wear something red, Susan had told her, that's how he'll know you. Of course, the only red thing that was in her wardrobe was this dress, the one that was a little shorter than she usually wore, a little lower cut, the one that she'd bought for a New Year's party with Ronnie and he'd instantly, and only half jokingly, banned her from wearing it anywhere he wasn't by her side. 

And there he is again, just like he always is, and she wonders when she's ever going to stop connecting things to him. 

She shakes her head as she takes another sip, wishing not for the first time that she'd never agreed to this. Given a choice, she'd much rather be at home with her research, or in the lab with her research. She wouldn't be here, in this fancy restaurant in a fancy dress, waiting for some guy she'd never met. 

She's never going to talk to Susan again and she means it this time. 

"Doctor Snow?"

She's shaken out of her reverie by someone saying her name but when she looks up, it's not Doctor Josh, the guy who her friend's been trying to set her up with. "Detective West," she says with some surprise, taking in in an instant that he's wearing a nicer suit than he'd normally wear on the job, has a drink in his hand that's the twin of hers. "What are you doing here?" Too late, she realises that it sounds like an accusation and she shakes her head, swearing that she's going to leave the rest of the whiskey on the table. "I didn't mean..."

He shakes his head, sits down on the stool next to hers. "You have to promise not to tell Barry," he begins and she feels her eyes widen as she nods. "I have a blind date in the place across the street." He tilts his head in the general direction and he doesn't seem to notice that her eyes widen even more. 

"Me too," she says. "Except mine is here and I'm kinda wondering why I even agreed to it in the first place."

She wants to bite her tongue, blames her loose lips on her lack of whiskey tolerance but there's an understanding smile on his face. "I'll drink to that," he tells her, holding up his glass towards her and she clinks hers against it. "Liquid courage... the main reason I came in here." He rattles the ice against the edge of the glass, shakes his head. "I don't know why I do this to myself."

Caitlin tilts her head curiously. "You're a veteran at this, Detective?"

He looks at her, lifts one eyebrow. "It's Joe," he tells her and she nods. "And I wouldn't say a veteran... once in a blue moon, maybe. You?"

She twists the glass on the bar, stares at the wet circle it leaves in its wake because it's easier than looking at him for some reason. "My first," she says quietly. "My friend... she thinks I need to start getting out... moving on." The words stick in her throat and she tries to wash them down with a sip of whiskey. That, of course, allows him to ask a question. 

"From?"

She's answered that question plenty of times over the last few months, in one way or another. She can't remember the last time it was asked in such a gentle voice. "My fiancé, Ronnie..." she says, tripping over his name. "He was killed when the lab exploded." 

"I'm sorry." It's the usual expression of sympathy, but this one is said with something that sounds very like understanding. She looks over at him and he's not looking down at her. He's looking at his hand, his left hand. At the ring finger on his left hand as he twists the ring there. 

She closes her eyes as the pieces fall into place. "Your wife?" she guesses. 

"Killed when Iris was eight," he says. "Car crash. Kid ran a stop sign, straight into her... they say she never felt a thing." 

Now it's her turn to say, "I'm sorry," and mean it and he shrugs. 

"Seventeen years," he says, raises his glass to his lips. "It gets easier," he says after a moment. "Most days, anyway." He shrugs, watches the light as it reflects through the amber liquid of his glass. "I guess I never really got into the whole dating scene after she died... trust me, when you're a single dad, two young kids, a cop? The phone's not exactly ringing off the hook. But they're both grown up now... Iris has Eddie, Barry has... his own thing going on..." He sighs. "And I have well meaning friends." He makes it sound like a death sentence but strangely the knowledge that she's not alone in how she's feeling makes her feel a little better. "So yeah... I know how it feels to lose the thing most important to you." 

Somehow, some way, another piece slots into place. "Is that why you took Barry in when his mother died?" 

Joe chuckles. "You're good, Doctor Snow."

"Caitlin."

He nods, eyes far away, years away maybe. "The thing I remember most about that night? It's looking at Barry... seeing the look on his face... it was the exact same look Iris had when I told her about her mom." He grimaces. "Except it was worse, because she still had me. He lost his mom and dad all on the one night. I took him home with me, put him in our spare room, which became his room... he's been family ever since."

Caitlin wonders when she began to smile. "He's lucky to have you," she tells him and he chuckles. 

"I don't know about that," he says. "Since... you know... we haven't always seen eye to eye." 

She knows exactly what " you know" refers to; the explosion, the lightning bolt, The Flash. "You're just looking out for him; he knows that," she tells him quietly. "And believe me... we don't always see eye to eye either." 

Joe's eyes widen but he looks delighted to hear it. She tries not to take that personally; it's easier than she might have believed. "He never tells me that."

Caitlin rolls her eyes. "No kid tells their parents things like that," she points out. Then, knowing who she's talking to, knowing he's one of the few people who would understand, with the whiskey singing in her veins, she says, "I try to keep him from hurting himself... pushing himself too far. I don't want..."

Her voice trails off but he understands; she knew he would. "You don't want what happened to Ronnie to happen to him."

"The work we're doing... the science... it's amazing. You have no idea how amazing it is," she tells him, looking up to the ceiling and shaking her head. "I just wonder... sometimes. If it's all worth it. I mean, Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes... but those discoveries ended up killing her. And I just..." Words escape her and she drops her head, willing herself not to cry. 

After a long moment of silence, his voice comes, low, sincere. "For what it's worth? I'm glad he has you to look out for him."

Lifting her head, she finds that tears have been banished, and a small smile comes to her lips. "Back at ya." 

Once again, Joe lifts his glass. "I'll drink to that." 

She lifts her glass to his but as she sets it down, another voice comes behind them, says her name like it's a question. "Caitlin?"

Looking around, she sees a tall guy, chiselled jawline, piercing eyes, wearing a suit that makes him look like he stepped out of the pages of GQ Magazine. He looks a lot like the kind of guy she'd usually go for, looks an awful lot like Ronnie as a matter of fact and she can understand why Susan might have chosen to set them up together. It doesn't change the fact that, especially after this conversation, she really, really, doesn't want to do this. 

Much to her surprise, while she's casting around for an answer, Joe says, "I think you've got the wrong person, man... this is Marie." 

Caitlin keeps her face straight, mostly due to surprise, and Doctor Josh, as she's taken to calling him in her head, looks confused. "Are you sure? Because..."

"Hey." Joe holds his hands up, makes a face that's a cross between a grimace and sympathy. "I think I know my own wife's name."

Doctor Josh's jaw drops and he sputters apologies, moves away, leaving Caitlin to stare at Joe. "I can't believe you just did that."

Joe's eyes flicker between her and the departing Doctor Josh. "You want me to call him back here?" he asks, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. "Because I can do that." 

His eyes, however, are dancing and she knows that look, has seen it on Barry's face on more than one occasion. "Thank you," she says instead. "I seriously owe you one."

"Just keep looking out for Barry," he says. "We'll call it even."

Caitlin smiles. "Deal." Glancing at the clock, she realises that she can still salvage something of the evening, even if it's only to sit on her couch and watch something on Netflix. Then a thought occurs to her. "What time is your date?" Joe looks at his watch almost comically, then rubs a hand over his forehead.  "Oops?" she guesses. 

"Oops," he concurs. He knocks back his whiskey. "This is why I have a florist on speed dial." 

Standing up, Caitlin grabs the bar to steady herself, once again cursing her high heels. "It was nice talking to you," she says and she means it too. 

"Definitely not the worst blind date I've ever had," Joe agrees. "C'mon, I'll put you in a cab." He pauses then, tilts his head and looks at his watch. "Unless... you want to grab some dinner? I have a million embarrassing Barry stories I can tell you..."

She's all ready to say no, go home, put on some sweatpants and some bad tv. 

Instead she feels her lips curling into a smile. "I'd love to."


End file.
